Wing Man
by kaegulkeroki
Summary: Levi, Erwin and Mike hit the town... but someone seems to have ulterior motives. One shot, fluff [MxM].


Pegasus was one of those taverns where soldiers went to unwind and men and women went to get picked up by soldiers. In the early hours of the evening, it had all the appearances of a respectable place. Even senior officers could be spotted there grabbing a drink and a bite and socializing with the rank and file. But after hours, as the night wore on and the diners lingered to become drinkers, collars loosened, jackets came off, shirt sleeves were pushed up, and the scene became one of laughter and raucousness between military and civilian alike.

It was one of those nights, after hours and a few shots of whiskey back at the base, that Levi found himself under the swinging wooden sign painted with a white winged horse. He didn't know where the word or even the idea of "pegasus" came from. But it sounded foreign, and it was certainly fantastical, like something conjured up out of a story book to make children believe that the world was a wonderful place. The feeling was not unlike the one Levi was feeling right now.

A year ago he would never have imagined he would be living above ground, let alone going regularly beyond the walls into unknown territory. If the future him had told him to aspire to it, he would have laughed in his own face and told himself to get his head out of his ass. But now, here he was, finally convinced to socialize, just a little bit.

A biting wind blew through the alley, causing Levi to shiver and the wooden sign to creak overhead.

"Are you planning on standing out here all night?" Mike called out to Levi from the door, his tall frame illuminated in the light shining out from inside, where loud laughter could be heard.

"Come, Levi," said Erwin, stepping towards him from the shadow that Mike had cast. The light was warm on their faces, turned open and inviting towards him and slightly blushed from the brisk walk and whiskey.

"I'm not a dog," said Levi with an annoyed air that he didn't actually feel. It was actually kind of nice, this camaraderie the two men had extended to him. It wasn't for lack of trying before, but Levi had always turned them down, never really feeling in the mood for chit chat or idling about. Not since that first trip beyond the walls. But the past few months there had been a lull in the expeditions, it was the holidays, cold and many soldiers were on leave. Except for them, apparently.

Levi had been putting up his horse after a ride and run into Mike and Erwin there in the stable, leaning against the bales of hay and passing a flask between the two of them. Levi had actually been surprised to see the two officers so openly drinking, especially straight-laced Erwin. Despite his impassioned speeches, he had always seemed like he had a stick up his ass. Mike, on the other hand, though generally reserved, seemed like a man who knew how to party.

The two officers, obviously a bit tipsy already, had wheedled Levi to have a drink, just a little, to loosen up a bit. After all he always seemed so tense. Levi glared at Erwin for saying this, but accepted the offering. For some reason, he didn't feel so opposed to it today. And the sight of the two big men being giggly and furtive was disarming and kind of cute.

The drink was harsh and burned his throat on the way down, but Levi instantly felt the soothing effects of the booze hit his brain. Erwin was right about the tension. He had been so tense, for so long. He realized that Mike and Erwin were right about him needing to relax. They all needed to relax. And one shot became two, then three, then four. And then somehow they'd convinced him they should all hit the town. There was this great bar, with a great vibe, and lots of ladies…

Back in front of Pegasus, Levi felt himself sway a little. Shit when did he become such a light weight?

Mike's sharp eyes and mustache twitched as the corner of his lip curved in a smirk. Erwin raised a bushy eyebrow at him.

"Don't give me that shit. You guys were just singing on the way over here," said Levi with real annoyance.

"We were just soldiers on base then. Now we're officers about town. Representing the brave and noble Survey Corps," Erwin said with an exaggerated salute. His cheeks were a bit blushed, and a strand of hair had fallen out of his normally impeccable pomade, but he did cut an admirable image of a military man. His blue eyes focused on a faraway point and the tavern lights highlighted the handsome planes of his face.

"Yeah, and the most important thing the public should know about us Survey Corps soldiers is that we can hold our liquor," said Mike, swinging open the bar door with gusto.

Before Levi could protest, Erwin had gripped his shoulders from behind and guided him into the bright, noisy room after Mike. Levi hadn't gotten the expression of a startled cat off his face when he realized he had made a terrible mistake. Many heads had turned when the three of them entered the room, but Levi was pretty sure he was invisible in that moment. His height wasn't helping matters, sandwiched as he was between Mike and Erwin, but he felt suddenly and acutely aware of how tall, blonde and strikingly handsome the two men were. More than a few women smiled at them, darkening the faces of the men they had been talking to. It was an unfamiliar experience to Levi.

Levi felt like scowling himself, when Erwin squeezed his shoulders and leaned down to his ear to say, "Next round's on you!" Erwin pushed him towards the bar after Mike, who had already strode off, hailing the bartender.

Levi was scowling by the time they ordered beers, plucking a few coins from his wallet. He supposed it was only fair. They had polished off the whiskey, which he assumed one of the other two had purchased. As if on cue, Erwin leaned down conspiratorily.

"I snagged that whiskey from Shadis' cabinet. The man get so plastered sometimes, he never knows how much he has left!" Erwin giggled to himself. Jeeze, thought Levi, he really was tipsy, although he somehow didn't show it.

Mike was ignoring them, casually leaning back on the bar while scanning the room. Looking for the most promising lay for the night, Levi supposed, his scowl deepening. Why had he even come? He'd never been a bar type.

Suddenly, Levi felt Erwin tuck his head down, into the crook of Levi's neck. Levi felt a shiver run down his spine as the taller man's hot breath touched the sensitive skin of his neck, although it came in bursts. The man was having a laughing fit. Was he still laughing about the whiskey? He was drunk, not tipsy.

"Pull yourself together! How are you supposed to be Mike's wing man when you're falling all over me?" Levi hissed, placing his hand on top of the blonde head and shoving it away. Erwin pouted at him for a moment - a weird, childish expression Levi could never imagined on the man - then did as he was told, turning away as he straightened up and leaned against the counter next to Mike. Levi just felt confused. His neck was also tingling. He decided to express himself by scowling.

"Two o'clock," said Mike, casually tapping Erwin's arm with his knuckles. Levi looked over to see a pair of attractive ladies who were very obviously interested in his two companions. Mike smiled back at them, easy, lazily, and Levi was impressed with the certainty underlying his expression. He knew, they knew, it was all very easy.

Levi glanced up at Erwin, whose face was slightly out of view standing right next to him. Erwin had composed his face back into its usual, stoic and somewhat statuesque appeal. He didn't seem as cocksure as Mike, but he also didn't seem disinterested. He was gazing over at the two women with the same intensity in which he eyed his battle plans.

A bitter feeling bubbled up inside Levi. Were those two seriously about to abandon him for two strangers, after dragging him all the way out here? The least they could was find a group of three. Surely wing women were a thing? It wasn't fair that he was the odd man out, the ugly duckling, unwanted, unloved.

Mike pushed off from the bar, striding easily towards the two ladies. As if bidden, Erwin followed right behind him, not even bothering to look back at Levi. Levi bit back the tightening sensation behind his eyes, helpless to watch as they slid into chairs on either side of the women. He saw the two introduce themselves, turning all their considerable charm on the ladies, who, in his opinion, were obviously out of their depth. Mike told a joke, the ladies laughed. The one next to Erwin shyly put her hand over her mouth as she laughed, flustered under the intensity of Erwin's stupid, bewitching smile. Levi abruptly turned his back on the scene and towards the bar. He stared down at his drink, his eyes burning.

What was he expecting anyway? This was all normal. Two guys like Mike and Erwin weren't going to stay holed up on base, jerking themselves off in the privacy of their bunks. It was all exactly as expected. This is what guys like them do. Levi just happened to be pulled along for the ride, but his company wasn't really that important, in fact it was inconsequential. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the group.

Mike was leaning so far into the chair of the woman next to him that he was almost sitting in it. She was leaning right back. His arm might as well been around her shoulder. In fact, that's where it would probably end up momentarily. The other lady… well, she was leaning so far towards Erwin that it looked like she was in his lap. She was looking up at him through her lashes, one breast very casually making its way towards his arm. He was still wearing that stupid, charming smile.

Levi had had enough. In a huff, he threw a coin on the counter and scooped up his jacket, jamming his arms into it as he made his way back to the door. If they wanted to pick up women, that's fine. More power to them. But he didn't have to sit around pathetically and wait for them to remember him. He'd rather do some training exercises anyway. Yeah… exercises.

He thought he heard a chair scraping loudly as he pushed through the doorway, but he didn't bother looking back. The air outside was freezing cold, and the alcohol buzz that had kept them warm on their way over had long since worn off, either through Levi's fast metabolism or his bitter emotional state. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and started walking briskly back along the road to the base.

Levi was a block away before he heard the tavern door bang shut behind him and Erwin's voice shouting.

"Levi! Levi, wait!"

Levi deepened his scowl and kept walking, not bothering to look back. There was the sound of quick footsteps, Erwin jogging, then a hand closing around the crook of his arm. Exasperated, Levi spun around, throwing Erwin's hand off in the process. Too late he realized his eyes were over bright with a clarity that comes right before tears.

"What?" He snapped. It came out a little higher than he had intended.

Erwin stood there, opening and closing his mouth, as if whatever he was going to say had fallen out. He finally closed his mouth, then hung his head, looking ashamed. Levi sighed.

"Look, Erwin. If you and Mike want to have some fun, go right ahead. Don't worry about me. I'm just tired and I'm not really into picking up women at bars. I'm going to go back to the base. You should go back inside. Have a good time tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

Levi turned without waiting for a response and began to walk away.

"Levi," Erwin's voice was small and quiet. "Levi, please."

"It's fine, Erwin."

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" said Levi, turning again with exasperation. Erwin still stood in the same place, but now his hands were clenched into fists by his side and his head was turned off to one side as he spoke, as if he was afraid to look Levi in the eye.

"I… I just don't know," continued Erwin meekly.

"What don't you know? Please, Erwin, just spit it out!"

"Fine! I don't like picking up women at bars either, okay. I don't like picking up women, period! In fact, the only reason I came out here tonight, with you and Mike, was because I was hoping… I was hoping…" Erwin was looking at him now, imploringly. The pupils in his big blue eyes were huge in the darkness outside the range of the tavern lights.

Levi just stared at him, a tight little knot of anxiety in his chest. He thought of the way Erwin had looked at him when he first saw him flying in the underground, hungrily. That had never really gone away. Levi had just rationalized it away as Erwin's natural, confusing intensity. But it had always sent chills down Levi's spine, that weird, gorgeous man focused so intently on him. He'd seen it and felt it, but like many such attractions in his life, he'd learned to just live with it. The complications were too great. They worked together, they lived together, they could die together. They needed to function at their highest together, no distractions.

But the way Erwin was looking at him now, so vulnerable and exposed and… did he just say he was gay? But the only reason he would be telling him that was…

Levi stepped forward, closing the gap between them until they stood only a few inches apart. He looked up at Erwin, his eyes huge and dilated, his mouth slightly parted as if in slight surprise. Levi looked down and slowly, carefully, found Erwin's hand with his own. He touched his palm gently, gingerly, waiting. And then Erwin closed his hand over his in answer. Levi sighed.

"Excuse me for this," Levi said, removed his hand, and slapped him. Hard.

The sound rang in the quiet street.

"What the fuck was that all about with Mike then?" Levi finished.

Erwin cradled his cheek with his hand, still a bit stunned. His eyes refocused, finding Levi again in the darkness.

"Ow," he whimpered. "I guess I deserve that."

"Go on," Levi folded his arms, waiting for an answer.

"So I, uh, actually asked Mike to help me out. You see, you just didn't really seem to see me like… that. I mean you saw me as the asshole who brought you into the Corps, but never really as an equal, a human being with human wants and needs and… attractions. I thought you'd never really see me. But I knew you watched others sometimes, I could see it flicker across your face. I wanted you to see me too. And I thought that perhaps if you that other people could see me like that, then you could see it too."

"You're an idiot," Levi said flatly.

Erwin shifted nervously, looking shyly away from Levi's gaze.

"I guess I was - I am selfish. After all that, asking for your life, your service, I still wanted more from you. I wanted your affection. Selfishly, I wanted you to want me the way that I wanted you. How undeserving I am."

Erwin hung his head now, real shame on his face. Levi could tell this was a new, embarrassing experience for Erwin. He suspected that Erwin had never had to ask anyone before in his life, he'd always been the one being asked.

"You're an idiot," said Levi again. "For thinking you needed to play some trick to get me to see how attractive you are, to want you. Erwin Smith, I've wanted you from the start. It just didn't seem like it was in the cards, for obvious reasons, and then I lost Isabel and Farlan and I couldn't feel anything for a long, long time. You're not any more undeserving or selfish than I am. If anything I'm undeserving of someone so magnificent as you. So if you're selfish, then let me be selfish too. Let me have you, Erwin. Just promise me, no more games or tricks. Just be straight with me from now on."

Levi placed his hands on either side of Erwin's face and pulled him gently down to him. Their lips met, soft and gentle as they pressed together. The kiss was chaste and sweet, only their lips touching as they leaned toward each other in the cool winter night. As they pulled away from each other, Erwin's voice fluttered, barely a breath on his lips.

"I promise, Levi. You have always had me."


End file.
